Glinda the Good
by Dizzy-Dreamer
Summary: But Glinda is a mask she wears as she looks down on the green city. She has always known it would end this way. Musicalverse


Musicalverse, set immediately following _Defying Gravity_ and following Glinda through the second act to the finale. Written as part of a fic exchange on Livejournal. Quotes from the show are not mine, nor are the characters from the show.

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Glinda the Good

xxx

Glinda presses her body into the ground, willing it to open beneath her and swallow her whole. She scrunches her eyes shut in a bid to stop the tears flowing, but her efforts fall flat as they continue to pour, her hands burning her sensitive skin as she brushes them vehemently.

Her small body shakes with sobs; a hand touches her shoulder and she flinches.

"Where did she go?" a voice demands. Glinda's head spun as people crashed around, tripping over this and that, walking into each other and yelling. All she could do was point.

xxx

She stands on the podium, an image of poise and elegance. She holds her shoulders back and her head high, a smile gracing her lips. Madame Morrible and Fiyero are beside her as she addresses her public.

_Fellow Ozians—_

She doesn't feel like a leader. She feels like Galinda: sometimes silly, not really a role model, definitely not a serious façade. But Glinda is a mask she wears as she looks down on the green city, its citizens celebrating _today_, because despite the terror, she says, she couldn't be happier for _today._

_And it's almost true, _she thinks, as she tells of joys and thrills, bridges and perfect finales.

Fiyero doesn't see it that way. Fiyero wants to fight, he wants to keep searching. Glinda holds his forearms in her small hands, and as she does she knows how wrong it feels – it's _wrong _but there is nothing she can do to make it right.

_Don't you see? She doesn't want to be found. _

It's always been so hard for Glinda to understand Elphaba's disregard for her own loneliness. Even now, as she pleads with Fiyero, heart breaking in two, she _doesn't understand. _It's right then, when Fiyero walks away, out of the public eye, that Glinda understands: _he loves her_.

_Getting your dreams is strange, but it seems a little – well, complicated._

Finally, _finally, _Glinda understands Elphaba's rage. _If that's love, it comes at much too high a cost_; Elphie's words echo in her mind, a broken record, and she finally understands. There is a price to pay for getting what you want, and sometimes – this time – it's not worth it.

xxx

Her head spins when she sees her friend in the Wizard's chamber. She sways a little and grasps for the wall to steady herself. She has so many questions to ask and so much rage, her tiny frame quivers under the tension. But she hugs Elphaba; tall, mysterious, emerald Elphaba, and her already-broken heart shatters like glass as her fiancé and best friend elope.

_There's a girl I know, he loves her so._

She has always known it would end this way. She knew all along that Fiyero and Elphaba would never conduct an affair behind her back.

But in the heat of the moment, as her fury unleashed itself, silly schoolgirl Galinda emerged from behind the mask and her only fear was the humiliation she was sure to endure.

xxx

Glinda and Galinda fight savagely and the latter wins, arguing childishly with Elphaba over Fiyero. _Violence is never wise,_ her mother has taught her, but as Elphaba taunts her, Glinda can't restrain herself.

It's only when Fiyero surrenders that Glinda _knows._

_He loves her._

xxx

She follows Elphaba surreptitiously, finally emerging from the shadows as Elphaba breaks down.

_Now it's up to you; for both of us._

Elphaba's words both move and terrify her. She is astounded at the way Elphaba trusts her and she is terrified because of it. She can't read the Grimmerie, what a _stupid _idea! And yet, she looks deep into Elphaba's eyes as she takes the book and she knows this is the last time she'll see her friend – her best friend – her _only _friend.

She promises never to forget.

_People come into our lives for a reason._

Glinda chokes back a sob as Elphaba tears away from her embrace and slips behind a curtain. There's a subtle nod to Chistery, and Glinda squeezes her eyes closed as the cacophony of noise reaches a chaotic crescendo.

Elphaba's hat is left on the cold concrete.

xxx

_It's finally over, _with the Wizard gone and Morrible imprisoned; the pieces fall into place and Glinda trembles, determined to hold back her tears.

_We have been through a frightening time._

It is there and then, as she watches the guards take her former mentor into custody, that Glinda makes her decision.

_I would like to try to be Glinda the Good._

She owes it to Elphaba.

_I know I'm who I am today because I knew you._


End file.
